CAIRO, December 18 (RIA Novosti) - Supporters of the late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein marked the first anniversary of his execution according to the Islamic lunar calendar on Tuesday, Arab media reported.
Saddam Hussein was sentenced to hang for the 1982 murders of 148 Shia Muslims from the town of Dujail. The slayings were ordered in retaliation for a botched assassination attempt against him. Hussein was executed by hanging on December 30, 2006, near Baghdad.
The date of his death coincided with Id al-Adha, the major Islamic festival of sacrifice that takes place at the end of the Hajj pilgrimage.
"Saddam Hussein lived as a hero and died as a real man," his supporters said on Tuesday, adding that they found it despicable and cynical to hang a Muslim on the eve of Id al-Adha.